Energy transfer mechanism

ABSTRACT

A device and method of transferring energy between peer devices includes determining an amount of energy to transfer from a provider battery powered peer device to a consumer battery powered peer device, selecting an energy transfer connection between the provider device and the consumer device, and initiating transfer of energy via the energy transfer connection.

BACKGROUND

In times of need, such as in an emergency or when in remote areas withno power, users with a low battery or no battery left on their devicerequire a mechanism quickly charge their device to make an emergencycall, as an example. Smart devices are ubiquitous amongst users.Integrated batteries in smart devices can be charged, but do not carrythe mechanism to charge other same-powered devices nor a method for theuser to define or meter the energy transmission between devices.

Some devices allow for swapping batteries but incongruent batteries fromdifferent type of devices cannot be shared across devices. Some devicesinclude a USB powered port to charge other low-powered smart devices,but do not allow charging of same-powered devices. External batterypacks, solar power panels, other solutions exist but are cumbersome andbecome an additional accessory to carry.

SUMMARY

A device and method of transferring energy between peer devices includesdetermining an amount of energy to transfer from a provider batterypowered peer device to a consumer battery powered peer device, selectingan energy transfer connection between the provider device and theconsumer device, and initiating transfer of energy via the energytransfer connection.

A machine readable storage device having instructions for execution by aprocessor of the machine to perform determining an amount of energy totransfer from a provider battery powered peer device to a consumerbattery powered peer device, selecting an energy transfer connectionbetween the provider device and the consumer device, and initiatingtransfer of energy via the energy transfer connection.

A device includes power management electronics configured to determinean amount of energy to transfer from a provider battery powered peerdevice to a consumer battery powered peer device, select an energytransfer connection between the provider device and the consumer device,and initiate transfer of energy via the energy transfer connection.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a provider device transferringenergy to a consumer device according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of transferring power from aprovider device to a peer device according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of negotiating a powertransfer between peer devices according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of initiating a powertransfer according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of computer system used to implement methodsaccording to an example embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way ofillustration specific embodiments which may be practiced. Theseembodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilledin the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood thatother embodiments may be utilized and that structural, logical andelectrical changes may be made without departing from the scope of thepresent invention. The following description of example embodiments is,therefore, not to be taken in a limited sense, and the scope of thepresent invention is defined by the appended claims.

The functions or algorithms described herein may be implemented insoftware or a combination of software and human implemented proceduresin one embodiment. The software may consist of computer executableinstructions stored on computer readable media such as memory or othertype of hardware based storage devices, either local or networked.Further, such functions correspond to modules, which are software,hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. Multiple functions may beperformed in one or more modules as desired, and the embodimentsdescribed are merely examples. The software may be executed on a digitalsignal processor, ASIC, microprocessor, or other type of processoroperating on a computer system, such as a personal computer, server orother computer system. The article “a” or “an” means “one or more”unless explicitly limited to a single one.

Energy transfer is performed between two mobile devices. In someembodiments, peer to peer energy transfer is performed between two smartdevices, such as mobile phones. A peer device is a battery poweredmobile device. Peers need not be the same model or type of device. Forexample, a laptop computer may send or receive power from a smartphone,tablet, or another laptop computer. Each of these peer devices mayeither receive or send power to any of the other types of peer devices.In various embodiments, devices may be capable of being both a providerand a receiver, or may have only one of such capabilities, yet still betermed a peer device.

One peer device transmits energy, and another peer device receives anegotiated amount of energy via existing charging technologies, such asinductive power, wireless power, and direct power cable, among others.The energy transfer may be controlled by a switch that changes the smartdevice from receiver to transmitter of energy to charge another devicewhen activated.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of two example peer devices 100 and 110. Oneof the peer devices will be a provider device, and the other, a consumerdevice. An energy transfer mechanism within each peer device may includea power manager 114, 115 respectively, such as a power managementutility, that controls which device to transmit energy to, how totransmit the energy, and a duration of the energy transmission. Thepower manager 114, 115 may allow a user to control the devicetransferring energy to meter and to measure the energy transmissionbetween devices. Measuring or metering the energy transfer facilitatesuse of a payment or credit system for receiving value for transferredenergy.

In one embodiment, the power manager 114, 115 is formed of electronics,which may be a microprocessor running a computer program stored on amemory device. The power manager 114, 115 is powered by a battery 117,118 respectively. An energy transfer mechanism 120, 121 is coupled tothe battery 117, 118 and may be controlled by power manager 114, 115,and may implement many different types of energy transfer constructs,such as a wired connection—USB cable, for example, or wireless powertransfer such as Qi or PMA (Power Matters Alliance) inductive charging,or A4WP Electromagnetic Charging.

The energy transfer mechanism 120, 121 may thus be a USB port, or a coilfor transfer to another coil. The energy transfer is represented at aconnection 125, and may consist of a wireless or wired connectionsuitable for transferring power. In the case of wireless transfer whenmechanisms 120, 121 are electromagnetic coils, connection 125 mayrepresent that the devices 100 and 110 are brought in close proximity toeach other suitable for inductively transferring power between thecoils. In the case of a USB type of power transfer, connection 125represent a USB cable. Connection 125 may also represent other forms ofconnection between two devices to exchange power in further embodiments.

In a further embodiment, the devices may include transceivers 122, 123coupled to the power manager electronics to provide communicationbetween the devices. The communications may include informationexchanged to agree upon roles in an energy transfer, the amount ofenergy to be transferred, the method of transfer, power metering andmeasurement information, value to be exchanged, and other information tofacilitate starting and stopping of the energy transfer.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method 200 implemented by one peerdevice transferring power, a provider device, to another peer device, aconsumer device. At 210, the provider device enters into an energytransfer mode, and determines a specific quantity or amount of energy totransfer at 215 to the consumer device. At 220, an energy transfermechanism is selected, such as a wired, or a close proximity inductivecharge transfer between coils in the respective devices.

The amount of energy to be transferred at 225 may be controlled invarious manners. A selected amount of energy, such as a value expressedas watt hours may be specified in one embodiment with the magnitude ofenergy being transferred varying, resulting in transfers of varyingtimes. A constant amount of energy for a fixed amount of time may betransferred in a further embodiment. In another embodiment, energytransfer may take place until a specified amount of energy remains inthe provider device, such as 50% of the battery power remaining. Instill further embodiments, a provider device may transfer a fixedpercentage of a full charge, such as 20% of a full charge. Each of thetransfers may also have a time limit associated with them, so thatcharging stops after a specified amount of time, such as 15 minutesregardless of whether the transfer is complete or not.

In one embodiment, the power being transferred is metered by thetransfer mechanism 120 of the provider device. The provider device mayalso track the time during the power transfer to effect one of the abovetransfer methods. The data may be provided to the power manager 114 ofthe provider device, which may also track the time internally or via aseparate clock. When device 110 is the receiver device, its transfermechanism 121 may measure the power received to ensure that anynegotiated transfer has actually occurred and whether any negotiatedvalue exchange should occur. Note that the measured power is likely lessthan the metered power, as some losses occur in the transfer mechanismutilized. In one embodiment, the transfer mechanism and estimatedtransfer efficiency may be considered in determine any value to beexchanged.

A speed of energy transfer may depend upon respective capabilities ofprovider and consumer devices, and amount to be transferred. In oneexample, a first user's smartphone battery is at 80% charge, but asecond user's smartphone battery is dead. The second user may have nocharger/access to ac power. The first user may agree to transfer up to20% of battery energy to the second user's phone. The first user may setlimits of: transfer amount: 20% max, transfer time: 15 minutes max. Thephones are then connected (by wire) or placed in proximity (wirelesscharging) and the energy transfer is initiated by providing energy fromthe provider battery to the energy transfer cable, electromagnetic coil,or other wireless energy transfer mechanism. For Qi/PMA connecting thephones means placing phones back to back on a table, for example. Theremay be no need for a user to monitor the energy transfer, as theprovider phone controls the transfer automatically. The provide phonestops the transfer when the transfer amount (20%) or time limit (15minutes) is reached. In one embodiment, the power manager of theprovider phone may simply control a port being used for the transfer tostop the transfer.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method 300 of negotiating a powertransfer. At 310, a request is received for energy transfer. The requestmay be received by a user of the device in one embodiment or via acommunication from a potential receiver received by a provider deviceutilizing transceivers 122, 123. At 315, an amount of energy to transfermay be negotiated. The negotiation may be directed by a user of a deviceand may consist of exchanging numbers representative of total power,length of time for the transfer, or percentage of power to transfer aspreviously referenced. The mechanism for power transfer may also benegotiated, such as wired or wireless connection. This may depend on thecapabilities of the respective devices.

A value to be transferred in exchange for the power transfer mayoptionally be negotiated at 320. The value may consist of a credit forfuture power transfers back, a monetary value to be provided in cash orcredit, or any other type of value users may agree upon. The transferthen takes place at 325. At 330, the amount of energy that istransferred is metered by the provider and may also be measured by thereceiver. The value may be correlated to either amount, or both, such asan average of the two depending on the previous negotiation. At 335, anoptional exchange of value for the energy transferred may be performedas agreed upon.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method 400 of initiating a powertransfer. At 410, and device detects that its battery is low, and thatcharging is needed. The detection may be based on a percentage chargeremaining threshold, such as 10%, a projected time remaining threshold,or other measurable parameter having threshold corresponding to whenrecharging should take place to continue operation of the device. Adevice detecting low power in this manner becomes a consumer device, andmay use it's transceiver to send out a low batter signal or beacon at415 detectable by a potential provider device. Power may then bereceived from a provider at 420, or from another device such as astandard AC charger. When sufficient power is received, or when a powertransfer is initiated, the consumer device may turn off the beacon at425. Sufficient power may be identified using the same threshold used todetermine low power, or a higher threshold may be used in furtherembodiments to ensure some operating time prior to reaching the a lowpower state again.

FIG. 5 is a block schematic diagram of a computer system 500 toimplement device 100 and other computing resources according to exampleembodiments. All components need not be used in various embodiments. Oneexample computing device in the form of a computer 500, may include aprocessing unit 502, memory 503, removable storage 510, andnon-removable storage 512. Sensors 115 and 125 may be coupled to providedata to the processing unit 502. Memory 503 may include volatile memory514 and non-volatile memory 508. Computer 500 may include—or have accessto a computing environment that includes—a variety of computer-readablemedia, such as volatile memory 514 and non-volatile memory 508,removable storage 510 and non-removable storage 512. Computer storageincludes random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM) & electrically erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memorytechnologies, compact disc read-only memory (CD ROM), Digital VersatileDisks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetictape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or anyother medium capable of storing computer-readable instructions. Computer500 may include or have access to a computing environment that includesinput 506, output 504, and a communication connection 516. Output 504may include a display device, such as a touchscreen, that also may serveas an input device. The computer may operate in a networked environmentusing a communication connection to connect to one or more remotecomputers, such as database servers. The remote computer may include apersonal computer (PC), server, router, network PC, a peer device orother common network node, or the like. The communication connection mayinclude a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN) or othernetworks.

Computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium areexecutable by the processing unit 502 of the computer 500. A hard drive,CD-ROM, and RAM are some examples of articles including a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium. For example, a computer program 518 capable ofproviding a generic technique to perform access control check for dataaccess and/or for doing an operation on one of the servers in acomponent object model (COM) based system may be included on a CD-ROMand loaded from the CD-ROM to a hard drive. The computer-readableinstructions allow computer 500 to provide generic access controls in aCOM based computer network system having multiple users and servers.

Examples

1. A method of transferring energy between peer devices, the methodcomprising:

determining an amount of energy to transfer from a provider batterypowered peer device to a consumer battery powered peer device;

selecting an energy transfer connection between the provider device andthe consumer device; and

initiating transfer of energy via the energy transfer connection.

2. The method of example 1 wherein the amount of energy to transfer is apercentage of battery power of the provider device.

3. The method of any of examples 1-2 wherein initiating transfer ofenergy comprises:

transferring energy via the energy transfer connection; and

metering the amount of energy transferred.

4. The method of example 3 and further comprising stopping the energytransfer when the determined amount of energy has been transferred asindicated by the metering of the amount of energy transferred.

5. The method of any of examples 3-4 and further comprising stopping theenergy transfer when a remaining battery power in the provider devicereaches a stop transfer threshold.

6. The method of any of examples 3-5 and further comprising stopping theenergy transfer when an energy transfer time period has been reachedregardless of the amount of energy transferred.

7. The method of any of examples 1-6 and further comprising:

negotiating a value for a negotiated amount of energy to be transferred;and

receiving the negotiated value in exchange for the transferred energy.

8. The method of any of examples 1-7 wherein initiating transfer ofenergy comprises providing energy to the consumer device via a cable.

9. The method of any of examples 1-7 wherein initiating transfer ofenergy comprises providing energy to the consumer device viaelectromagnetically coupled electromagnetic coils.

10. A machine readable storage device having instructions for executionby a processor of the machine to perform:

determining an amount of energy to transfer from a provider batterypowered peer device to a consumer battery powered peer device;

selecting an energy transfer connection between the provider device andthe consumer device; and

initiating transfer of energy via the energy transfer connection.

11. The machine readable storage device of example 10 wherein initiatingtransfer of energy comprises:

causing transfer of energy via the energy transfer connection; and

receiving metering information specifying the amount of energytransferred.

12. The machine readable storage device of example 11 wherein themachine further performs stopping the energy transfer when thedetermined amount of energy has been transferred as indicated by themetering of the amount of energy transferred.

13. The machine readable storage device of any of examples 11-12 whereinthe machine further performs stopping the energy transfer when aremaining battery power in the provider device reaches a stop transferthreshold or when an energy transfer time period has been reachedregardless of the amount of energy transferred.

14. The machine readable storage device of any of examples 10-13 whereinthe machine further performs:

negotiating a value for a negotiated amount of energy to be transferred;and

receiving the negotiated value in exchange for the transferred energy.

15. The machine readable storage device of any of examples 10-14 whereininitiating transfer of energy comprises plugging in a cable over whichto transfer the energy or placing the provider device in close proximityto the consumer device to effect energy transfer via electromagneticcoils.

16. A device comprising:

a display;

a processor operatively coupled to the display;

an energy transfer connection;

a battery which supplies power to the process and which is operativelycoupled to the energy transfer connection; and

power management electronics configured to:

-   -   determine an amount of energy to transfer from a provider        battery powered peer device to a consumer battery powered peer        device;    -   select an energy transfer connection between the provider device        and the consumer device; and    -   initiate transfer of energy via the energy transfer connection.

17. The device of example 16 and further comprising an electromagneticcoil coupled to the power management electronics to transfer energy tothe consumer device when selected as the energy transfer connection.

18. The device of any of examples 16-17 and further comprising a batteryto provide the energy to be transferred.

19. The device of example 18 and further comprising a transceivercoupled to the power management electronics to exchange information witha peer device.

20. The device of example 19 wherein the battery comprises a low batterydetector and wherein the power management electronics uses thetransceiver to transmit a low battery power beacon responsive to the lowbattery detector.

Although a few embodiments have been described in detail above, othermodifications are possible. For example, the logic flows depicted in thefigures do not require the particular order shown, or sequential order,to achieve desirable results. Other steps may be provided, or steps maybe eliminated, from the described flows, and other components may beadded to, or removed from, the described systems. Other embodiments maybe within the scope of the following claims.

1. A method comprising: determining an amount of energy to transfer froma provider battery powered peer device to a consumer battery poweredpeer device; selecting an energy transfer connection between theprovider device and the consumer device; and initiating transfer ofenergy via the energy transfer connection.
 2. The method of claim 1wherein the amount of energy to transfer is a percentage of batterypower of the provider device.
 3. The method of claim 1 whereininitiating transfer of energy comprises: transferring energy via theenergy transfer connection; and metering the amount of energytransferred.
 4. The method of claim 3 and further comprising stoppingthe energy transfer when the determined amount of energy has beentransferred as indicated by the metering of the amount of energytransferred.
 5. The method of claim 3 and further comprising stoppingthe energy transfer when a remaining battery power in the providerdevice reaches a stop transfer threshold.
 6. The method of claim 3 andfurther comprising stopping the energy transfer when an energy transfertime period has been reached regardless of the amount of energytransferred.
 7. The method of claim 1 and further comprising:negotiating a value for a negotiated amount of energy to be transferred;and receiving the negotiated value in exchange for the transferredenergy.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein initiating transfer of energycomprises providing energy to the consumer device via a cable.
 9. Themethod of claim 1 wherein initiating transfer of energy comprisesproviding energy to the consumer device via electromagnetically coupledelectromagnetic coils.
 10. A device comprising: a display; a processoroperatively coupled to the display; an energy transfer connection; abattery which supplies power to the processor and which is operativelycoupled to the energy transfer connection; and power managementelectronics configured to: determine an amount of energy to transferfrom a provider battery powered peer device to a consumer batterypowered peer device; select an energy transfer connection between theprovider device and the consumer device; and initiate transfer of energyvia the energy transfer connection.
 11. The device of claim 10 andfurther comprising an electromagnetic coil coupled to the powermanagement electronics to transfer energy to the consumer device whenselected as the energy transfer connection.
 12. The device of claim 10wherein transfer of energy via the energy transfer connection comprisesenergy stored in the battery.
 13. The device of claim 12 and furthercomprising a transceiver coupled to the power management electronics toexchange information with a peer device.
 14. The device of claim 13wherein the battery comprises a low battery detector and wherein thepower management electronics uses the transceiver to transmit a lowbattery power beacon responsive to the low battery detector.
 15. Amachine readable storage device having instructions for execution by aprocessor of the machine to perform: determining an amount of energy totransfer from a provider battery powered peer device to a consumerbattery powered peer device; selecting an energy transfer connectionbetween the provider device and the consumer device; and initiatingtransfer of energy via the energy transfer connection.
 16. The machinereadable storage device of claim 15 wherein initiating transfer ofenergy comprises: causing transfer of energy via the energy transferconnection; and receiving metering information specifying the amount ofenergy transferred.
 17. The machine readable storage device of claim 16wherein the machine further performs stopping the energy transfer whenthe determined amount of energy has been transferred as indicated by themetering of the amount of energy transferred.
 18. The machine readablestorage device of claim 16 wherein the machine further performs stoppingthe energy transfer when a remaining battery power in the providerdevice reaches a stop transfer threshold or when an energy transfer timeperiod has been reached regardless of the amount of energy transferred.19. The machine readable storage device of claim 15 wherein the machinefurther performs: negotiating a value for a negotiated amount of energyto be transferred; and receiving the negotiated value in exchange forthe transferred energy.
 20. The machine readable storage device of claim15 wherein initiating transfer of energy comprises plugging in a cableover which to transfer the energy or placing the provider device inclose proximity to the consumer device to effect energy transfer viaelectromagnetic coils.